Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame inductee, Mike Hynson, kisses Tiki on the head while shielding him from the cold rain. ANGELA PIAZZA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Club member, Matt Henken, from Carlsbad, sells surfboards during the the Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame induction ceremony. "I needed to clean out my garage," he said. "Plus it's neat to see the legends." ANGELA PIAZZA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Surfboard builder Bob Pearson give a brief speech after receiving a trophy from co-founder Bob Bolen, left, and being inducted into the Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame. ANGELA PIAZZA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Surfboard builder Joel Woods, right, receives a trophy from co-founders from left, Mike Ester and Bob Bolen after being inducted into the Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame. ANGELA PIAZZA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

More about the inductees:

Mike Hynson:

Hynson was the co-star, along with Robert August, in the surf film "Endless Summer." The Encinitas builder created the Gordon and Smith produced "Red Fin" signature model board.

Jim Phillips:

The three-time U.S. surfing champion has made more than 45,000 boards in the past 50 years, and was inducted into the Surfers' Hall of Fame in 1998. He became part of the Hobie team, moving to Encinitas.

Bob Pearson:

Pearson was a pro surfer in the 1980s, and was once ranked second highest in mainland U.S. He created Pearson Arrow Surfboards, which produces about 2,000 boards a year and 75,000 since it started.

Joel Woods:

In 1959, he began working in Jack O'Neill's "Surf Shop," the first surf shop. Through the years, he'd sharpen his shaping skills by becoming an expert at all aspects of building.

Charlie Bunger:

The now-retired shaper started making boards for the neighborhood surfers in Long Island in 1961, and started Bunger Surfboards. He won the 1974 U.S. Championships, and in 1996 was inducted into the East Coast Surfing Legends Hall of Fame.

Denny Keogh:

Keogh was a pioneer of the polyurethane foam boards in Australia. He also introduced the removable fin system, and was inducted into the 2007 Australian Surfing Hall of Fame.

George Freeth:

Freeth will be honored in Huntington Beach this year as part of the "100 years of Surfing" celebration

DANA POINT – Without the guys who built the boards, surfing wouldn’t exist.

“These are the guys that made the culture happen. These are the guys who took time out of their lives to learn how to build that surfboard and dedicated their lives to building them,” said Bob “The Greek” Bolen, co-founder of the International Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame. “Without those guys, you wouldn’t have an industry, you wouldn’t have a sport.”

The 14th annual awards ceremony was held Saturday at Doheny State Beach, where surfboard makers from around the world were honored for their contribution to the sport. Surf fans gathered despite a cold wind and drizzle to watch the induction ceremony.

Bolen and friend Mike “Mickey Rat” Ester started the event in 2000 to honor the inductees for their contributions to the sport. The first Hall of Fame inductee was Bill Holden, and from there, many iconic surfers have graced the list. Each living inductee picks a fellow builder to be honored the following year.

Pearson, founder of Pearson Arrow Surfboards, drove down from Santa Cruz for the induction.

“It’s quite an honor. I come here and see a bunch of my friends who I’ve surfed with the past 50 years, and a bunch of really cool people out here. The passion is awesome, the excitement is so unreal,” he said.

Pearson started building boards in 1966 after learning to surf just two years earlier. He started building boards for himself, then friends, and soon a business began. At one point, he moved to Australia to surf professionally.

“All I wanted to do was surf and get into every aspect of it,” the 64-year-old said.

These days, he sells boards around the world and still gets to surf everyday.

Coral Reef owner Tony Jones accepted the award for George Freeth, whose name will be heard much in the next year as Huntington Beach celebrates 100 years of surfing. Freeth is the first person who surfed in Huntington Beach, brought from Hawaii by Henry Huntington to put on exhibitions to draw interest in land purchasers.

“He was the father of modern day surfing,” said Jones. “He would be so pleased to see what has happened with surfing.”

Freeth died in 1919 at the age of 36, Jones said. While Duke Kahanamoku is a common name in the surf culture, his mentor Freeth is a lesser-known figure.

A celebration will be held on June 20 to celebrate Surf City’s anniversary with the sport.

The event Saturday was held in conjunction with the Longboard Collector Club, with classic boards and memorabilia scattered around the muddy lawn as surfers perused the goods despite the drizzle.

“Surfboards are made to get wet, right?” joked Tony Geria, director of the club.

Geria said this is the biggest event of the year for the club, and he’s seeing more boards from recent years like the ‘1970s and ‘80s. Items such as a bright florescent pink, blue and yellow O’Neill wetsuit from the ‘80s sat among the classic boards.

Geria himself has a few gems in his collection, including a 1960s early foam board made by Joe Quigg.

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